As it is generally known, in computer-based communications, instant messaging systems enable instant communications between two or more people over a communication network such as the Internet. Instant messaging typically requires the use of a client program to provide an instant messaging service. Instant messaging differs from electronic mail (“email”) in that conversations happen in real-time. Instant messaging sessions are sometimes referred to as “chat” sessions. Examples of existing instant messaging technologies include Qnext, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Skype, Google Talk, .NET Messenger Service, Jabber, QQ, iChat and ICQ, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
In many existing instant messaging applications, instant messaging session participants have the ability to save (“log”) the transcript of an instant messaging session into a log file (or “history file”). Participants can then subsequently view the saved session transcript from the log file through a transcript viewing user interface provided by an appropriate application program. In many circumstances, there is a need to restrict which participants can log session contents, and to control which session contents can be logged into the saved file. For example, if a participant enters content that is considered confidential or potentially embarrassing, they may not want other session participants to be able to easily share that particular statement, or the entire session transcript, outside of the live session. In one existing system, a limited solution is provided in which a user can simply prevent the complete contents of the session transcript from being saved into a log file for later distribution. However, this is an inflexible solution, and there is a need for a more flexible and granular solution, that allows a session participant to “lock” one or more portions of the session transcript, and then distribute a “key” to specified participants, enabling those participants to “unlock” locked portions of the session transcript in the log file.
It would accordingly also be desirable to have a new system for controlling how instant messaging session transcripts are saved to log files, that allows selective locking of specified portions of an instant messaging session transcript within the log file, such that a locking participant can select which other participants are able to unlock the locked content in the session history saved within the log file.